Hi DonnaI have also come across this in my older records and have also wondered. Because it seemed to be used when ante meridiem/post meridium weren't used I have come to the conclusion that when I see 9 Italiana, it just intended 9 am and when I see 21 Italiana, it intended 9 pm. I would be interested to learn otherwise.

Donna and Angela,This system of telling time dates back in Italy to the mid 14th century. At the time, Italian hours were counted from sunset, with sunset being the 24th hour. That made it easy for people to determine how many hours there were of daylight. All they had to do was subtract the current time from 24 and you would have that info. The drawback came with the sun moving during the year, and the different seasons, so length of time wasn't constant. For example, if noon corresponded roughly with 19 hours in winter time, in summer it might only correspond with 16 hours.The system was replaced in the mid 18th century, but personally I have always counted the way Angela has when I have seen the concept in my earlier records.

I am going to provide you with a link to an article which is written in Italian and can be downloaded. Have to go retrieve it and will edit my post to include it.

This concise historical presentation is intended not as an exhaustive sociological treatise, but as a general introduction for the layman. It is presumed that the reader has already reviewed Italian Heraldry, Nobility & Genealogy. Because of the highly individual nature of genealogical and heral...

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